For prompt 17: Self-inflicted wound
Thanks to an-amalgamation-of-things and beanbean who came up with this wonderful crazy list of random words as inspiration: Perpendicular, tea, flamingo, chocolate, car, tree, robin, stairs, river. I'm happy to say I managed to include every single one of them!
University was great. Sure, the mountain of 'suggested' reading, last-minute assignments, and the seemingly endless lectures were stressful, but it was a normal kind of stressful and not 'I need to stop this manic from starting WWIII'-stressful, which was a nice change.
Today, he had had a short day with only a single lecture in the morning and seeing as this particular day in May had offered such a rarity as real sunshine and warmth, he had offered Robin a tour around the university area. Robin had transferred to Cambridge midway through last semester to join the Architecture undergrad program, and through a slightly convoluted way Alex had ended up becoming their tutor.
Since most of the other students had already formed cliques and study groups, Robin had ended up sticking mostly to him though they were studying different subjects — not that Alex minded — and they had become good friends. They had been so busy trying to catch up with the rest that they hadn't been able to explore the area, and Alex was determined to make up for it today.
They first walked the university grounds, following the path along the River Cam and to the King's College Chapel, before settling under a tree to chat in the shade. Robin went into gushing mode about the chapel, while Alex closed his eyes and enjoyed listening to their enthusiasm, nodding once in a while to show he wasn't actually asleep. He did doze off for a while when Robin started going into details about the fine fan vaulting of the chapel, but Robin didn't care and only shook him awake to drag him into a small café across the road to 'cool down.'
The prices were outrageous, but Alex admitted defeat and ordered a large glass of lemonade with mint, while Robin clutched the fancy monstrosity of an iced chocolate coffee they insisted was the only thing keeping them going through the semester. Alex had to be the only undergrad not addicted to caffeine by now, preferring a proper English tea in the morning to Robin's great horror.
All in all, it was a nice ending to a nice day, so something inevitably had to go wrong.
Out of habit, Alex had chosen a seat at the back of the café, angled in such a way that he could watch the streets while it was hard for anyone to watch him in return. When the same blue car cruised down the street for the third time, he knew this had been the right choice.
Alex had just excused himself to Robin for a short break to the bathroom when a lithe man came down the stairs leading to the employee-only area above the café. He was clad in the proper uniform and the nametag on his right breast read 'Clarence.' Something was off though. His movements were too graceful and controlled, his gaze a little too calculating to be the bored waiter he pretended to be. The last time Alex had seen someone move like that had been Nile, and the comparison made him tense at once.
He didn't know what the man wanted, didn't even know if it had anything to do with Alex or MI6, or if he once again was in the wrong place at the right time, but Alex knew he had to do something to stop it. Glancing around, he spotted a female waiter balancing two large cups of cappuccinos walking their way from the counter.
Alex timed the whole thing perfectly.
Clarence was two steps away, eyes fixed on something at the other side of the room when Alex 'tripped' over a backpack with a large pink flamingo on it that one of the tourists had left standing in the way. His flailing arm hit the stray, sending the cappuccinos flying right into Clarence's face. Alex received a large splash of scalding coffee on his hand, but it was nothing compared to poor Clarence, who got drenched in the stuff. The man yelped and stumbled back, clutching his face which was already turning red.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir!" Alex gasped. He grabbed a napkin from a nearby table and tried to 'help' the man dry his face, while discretely checking the man's pockets and nicking the phone he found inside. Clarence did not look happy.
The female waiter tried to defuse the rising tension, as the situation started attracting the attention of every single customer. Alex helped her clean the floor and assured her he would pay for the ruined cappuccinos, while another employee fetched a wet rag for Clarence's face. The situation only escalated further when the female waiter noticed that Clarence was wearing a uniform yet wasn't someone she recognised.
Clarence tried to talk his way out of it, clearly frustrated, but whatever he had been about to do, there was no way he would be able to go through with it while every single pair of eyes in the café was watching him. Reassured the man was distracted, for now, Alex slipped back into the booth to Robin, who was trying not to laugh.
"I knew you were clumsy, but this must be a new record for how much chaos you can cause in a single moment," Robin said. Alex grinned at the irony.
"What do I owe you for keeping it quiet?" he asked sheepishly.
Robin raised a brow. "You can start by explaining why you stole that man's phone and then promise to teach me later."
Themes: very minor (coffee) burn wounds
